Whilst Canada is renowned for its abundant production of maple syrup, its less sweet - and far more toxic - export DETHEROUS should be bottled up in equal measure and fed to the masses. Incendiary thrashing death metal is the beating heart of this trio and crossover grooves thickly weld themselves to you like a gloopy glob of metallic molasses: frankly, if you were able to slather these guys over your pancakes every morning, life would be complete.

Informal introduction aside, DETHEROUS are a seriously talented outfit. Their debut album "Hacked to Death" was an enjoyable affair, with allusions to early KREATOR, yet their sophomore opus "Unrelenting Malevolence" delivers a much more visceral experience with gnarly earworms for days. This Canadian crew clearly love the bones of DEMOLITION HAMMER, with "Unrelenting Malevolence" being a pure altar of nasty groove-entwined thrashy death metal worship in an uncannily similar vein as their East Coast heroes. From the outset, you can expect uncompromising instrumental savagery, insidious vocal body blows, and the same standard of malicious napalm-fuelled energy. If you're seeking solace in quiet slumbers and looking for beautiful quietude, you're in the wrong place; this is a mayhemic invasion of pure, unadulterated, unfiltered brutality that rides the colossal waves of the extreme side of thrash like a pro.

Straight out, "Interminable Mutilation" bounds in and sets the tone for an especially brutal full-length of unyielding energy and nastiness, with the drum blasts alone melting your face off like the quick burn of a blow torch. The bloody bludgeoning of "Suspended in Agony" will stab its sharp claws into you quicker than you can blink, with a showcase of twisted riffs set in amongst a perfected brutal vocal onslaught, or perhaps you'd prefer the heady thick grooves of nasty coagulation in "Gruesome Tools of Torture", a track that simmers with vicious, malicious intent? Whatever tickles your fancy, I can guarantee that a few tracks in, you'll already be prairie-dogging in your pants. Fact.

Much like the incessant bludgeoning DEMOLITION HAMMER serve, DETHEROUS deliver constant blows of brutality. From the seething display in "Encased in Gore" (which features an especially sexual solo), to the mid-tempo stomp of "Wretched Formation of Flesh", or the all-out barbarous plague of "Reek of the Decayed" (with the addition of the mighty Chris Monroy of SKELETAL REMAINS to achieve optimal filth levels), resistance to the infectious wretchedness the trifecta of musicians delivers is utterly futile. The warped chaos of "Erosion of Reality" leaves you feeling like you're trapped in a dank torture chamber, with "Tormented by the Dead" cementing the fear of some sort of necro retribution, and the devastatingly brilliant cover of DEMOLITION HAMMER's "Skull Fracturing Nightmare" will honestly have you on the cusp of falling off your mortal coil. You want ceaseless riffing? You've got it. Crave a full-length with more energy and aggression than a Tasmanian Devil on crack? Check. You want your metal to make your guts torpedo the pan like an anvil, displace the bog water, and crack the porcelain? This'll do the trick.

In a mere nine tracks, DETHEROUS manage to unleash an invasion of moreish, torturous audial punishment that infests your being from beginning to end. The production has a raw edge that only heightens the malevolence of the album, with special mention for the mixing and mastering that lifts the bass tone fantastically to give "Unrelenting Malevolence" a rabid bite. I'd personally recommend a decent stash of toilet roll for this effort because it's going to give you dysentery. Now excuse me while I just go and recover my sphincter from across the room.<